


it's much easier to not know things sometimes

by demonhalo



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Happy Nico di Angelo, Healthy Relationships, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Jealousy, Light Angst, Light-Hearted, M/M, Mutual Pining, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace Fluff, Sleepy Cuddles, aka me loving nico mwah, did i mention i love nico di angelo, hey i just rlly love nico di angelo ok so im gnna write abt him being loved n happy n getting better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-10 07:57:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12907572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demonhalo/pseuds/demonhalo
Summary: he’s never seen nico look this comfortable before, so at peace and unafraid.





	1. dreaming of a different death

**Author's Note:**

> yes the title is a quote from perks of being a wallflower because ur girl likes it a whole lot....  
> yes this little story is an excuse to write about nico because i love him so much its unhealthy  
> yes i want nico to be happy  
> yes i am writing this to make me happy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it was 8am, he probably just bruised his buttcheek and he couldn’t stop thinking about nico di angelo. kind of a weird combo, okay a very weird combo.

percy dreamt of nico. it wasn’t the usual kind of dream where nico was in trouble or had clues for an ongoing quest. in fact it was the opposite. nico was safe and sound as far as percy could tell, and he was pretty sure he wasn’t on a quest. unless studying for exams with his entire college experience at risk was considered a quest. the fact that annabeth was keeping a very close eye on him to ensure he worked his hardest and get results may qualify as a quest. anyways back to nico.

he was laying in bed, and the smile on his face was so bright that percy didn’t recognize him. the room was dark with the exception of moonlight seeping in through the blinds. he had to be at camp halfblood, but percy couldn’t tell what cabin or if he just dreamed up the room. it was the darkness that really made him recognize the scruffy haired son of hades. he was very in is element, the shadows of his face emphasized and the depth in his eyes was almost scary.

the next moment, nico was murmuring something percy couldn’t hear even if he was in the cabin with him. he had a feeling it was a secret anyways, he felt like he was intruding bigtime. nico was holding a hand against his chest, his lips moving and twitching into a smile the more he spoke. it was like watching a silent movie, percy couldn’t really stand it, maybe because it was awkward staring at nico for so long. maybe it was because this expression wasn’t for him, he was just spying at this point.

suddenly, nico was laughing, it was a loud and true laugh. percy had never heard him laugh like this, he only ever spared a few chuckles and even those were kind of sinister. it was the purest sound he’s heard come from nico di angelo in almost four years. he laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes, and he was clutching as his stomach while yelping that he couldn’t breathe.

 “you’re such an idiot.” nico’s voice was airy, laced with affection. percy raised an eyebrow, nico raised the hand to his mouth and seemed to be staring into him as he kissed at the knuckles. percy was beyond curious who he was laying in bed with, and who he was being so vulnerable with. he’s never seen nico look this comfortable before, so at peace and unafraid.

 percy was so busy analyzing the situation he barely heard what the reply was but he was sure he heard the word doctor. okay, maybe percy’s brain was just filling in gaps by rhyming words he thought he heard. whether or not whoever nico was resting beside said something about doctor’s was irrelevant.

 “why are you looking at me like that?” nico shifted, putting his arm underneath his head and sighing slowly. his eyes traced the other’s face, carefully, and the moonlight seemed to make his irises sparkle.

 “your smile is nice.”

 

it got hazy after that, very hazy in fact. percy woke up to a loud crash and it took him a good three minutes to realize the crash was him falling onto the floor. he blinked as he rubbed his eyes, groaning as he smacked his hand on the end table until he grabbed his alarm clock. it was 8am, he probably just bruised his buttcheek and he couldn’t stop thinking about nico di angelo. kind of a weird combo, okay a very weird combo. percy get up off the floor and smacked his lips a few times. how would he solve this mystery?

 he stared at the pile of exam preparation books on his desk and squinted a little bit. who was the smartest person he knew who was also due to visit the camp in the next few days? annabeth. he’s sure she wouldn’t mind him asking a favour. _hey babe, can you spy on nico di angelo for me? thanks so much i love you._ seemed reasonable to percy.


	2. emptiness in everything but you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> another trip to tartarus would be better than this. nico pulled the blanket over his face and just laid there for a bit.  
> nobody said anything. the room was silent. he hated it. worst day of his life. this made it onto his list of things that ruined his life for an extended period of time.

when annabeth came back to camp, everyone was talking about it. there was to be a special dinner that night and annabeth was practically followed around all day. everyone was eager to see her, except for one person. nico didn’t really feel like seeing her. 

he liked annabeth just fine, but in his past experiences he’s learnt that every time he talked to annabeth she brought up percy. nico wished he hadn’t told percy about his crush on him when she was there. now whenever she sees him, she gives him an update on percy. nico still considered himself friends or at least close acquaintances with the son of poseidon, but having to hear about him from his girlfriend did tend to get awkward.

nico didn’t sign up for the monthly update on percy jackson. he almost dreaded annabeth coming back because last time she talked about how gentle percy was with his baby sister and how well he was studying. nico was glad percy wasn’t always running around getting killed nowadays but he was not at all interested in how cute he was on dates with annabeth.

he did very good at avoiding her, nico only had to shadow travel once. will hadn’t found out yet, but when he did he was going to be reasonably angry with him. nico had to sit down in some bushes and take a breather. shadow traveling always took so much out of him, and when his life wasn’t at stake he didn’t feel like pushing himself any harder.

when the sun went down, nico was walking towards the apollo cabin to find will. it was a little weird that his boyfriend was hanging out with his old crush’s girlfriend, but will wasn’t the type to pry or announce their relationship to old friends.

nico hadn’t seen anyone or gone out of his way to tell people. he was pretty sure he told hazel about his preference for boy's, but he hasn’t told her that he was currently infatuated with one. just as he was trying to remember if his sister made any jokes about him and will, he heard chatter from in front of him.

pushing his hair away from his eyes as he looked up, nico made a weird croaking noise at the sight of annabeth and a few other campers coming his way. if she saw him, his peace and quiet would be over. he did the only thing he could think of. he ran.

nico turned around, and ran as fast as he could. where was he going? he had no clue, and he couldn’t shadow travel or else he might pass out in a dumpster somewhere. as he was running he saw blonde, associated it with his boyfriend, and continued that way.

 

he was going so fast that by the time he realized the hair was shorter and the frame was taller than will’s, it was too late. nico practically slammed into jason, hands grabbing at his shirt to keep his balance, and he hid himself behind him.

it was clear jason hadn’t expected such a warm welcome from nico, who so clearly expressed he didn’t like being touched. but since last time they saw each other they hugged, jason was happy to say the least.

“well hi nico.” he looked over his shoulder to see the messy haired boy shuffle farther behind him and sink further into his black jacket.

“hi jason,” nico peeked up at him, smiling as casually as he could, and jason’s eyes shone. the friendship they had was unlike anything else nico had. it was an invasive big brother kind of friendship. the way they had gotten close was not exactly nico’s favourite experience, in fact it was third on his list of things that ruined his life for an extended period of time. “when did you get here?”

“i got here a couple hours ago, i was just talking to chiron, organizing some stuff.” he nodded thoughtfully as he spoke, fixing his gold framed glasses with his index finger, and nico snorted without meaning to. “what?”

jason usually only made nico laugh when he made a complete fool of himself, which is to say jason made nico laugh all the time. the blonde boy turned around in nico’s grip and then studied him for a few quiet seconds.

“your glasses suit you, that’s all…” nico shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. nico was thinner, smaller, and kind of less impressive looking than jason overall. “what?” he weakly pushed jason’s face away from him, which made him laugh softly.

“well i haven’t seen for months, you get taller, your edgy aesthetic has gotten more powerful.” jason ruffled nico’s hair which had gotten a little longer and the ends had began to curl. “looks like you’ve been actually eating, and you smile easier now.”

“edgy aesthetic? you’re really asking for me to jab you now.” nico was busy threatening his friend when jason literally picked him up out of nowhere. the son of hades went red and squeaked as jason put him over his shoulder like he was a sack of potatoes.

“jason i’m going to kill you, i’m going to let ghosts eat you alive.” it was hard to sound intimidating when he was being carried so easily and jason was humming as he walked.

“aw, that’s precious. before you do that, let’s go see annabeth, i heard she’s here too.”

“oh gods no, jason can you take me to the infirmary instead?”

“infirmary?!” jason was so loud that nico winced, and he shook his head as lifelessly as he could. he needed to act like he was gravely injured which was easy for him because he had a whole lot of experience having no want to live and casually wasting away by himself.

“i shadow traveled earlier and i’m really…” nico hung his head weakly, pausing for dramatic effect and letting out a shaky breath. “i feel like i’m not all here.”

 

jason was very easy to convince, except for now he was carrying nico bridal style and he wanted to not exist even more so than usual. nico remembered going to the infirmary, but after jason laid him down on the bed, he realized that his excuse was actually reality.

the last thing he heard was clattering and a very agitated will go “gods, you’re impossible!”

  
  


warm, his face was really warm. nico leaned into it, not sure what it was, but he liked it. he licked at his dry lips, it was sweet, must have been ambrosia. fingers brushed over his cheek, and his eyes fluttered although they were still closed. it had to be will, he was familiar with the touch. 

“will?” he whispered, though he still couldn’t find the strength to open his eyes. the fingers delicately moved hair from his face and then adjusted the warm towel on his forehead.

“hey, numbskull.” will whispered from above him, and nico smiled as he scoffed. when will’s hand returned to his cheek, nico slowly turned his face and pressed a kiss to his palm.

“sorry, i know i told you i wouldn’t.” nico’s voice was rough, he was about to ask for water when will supported his head and pressed a glass to his lips. gods, he loved him. nico drank a lot, so much that his throat went cold and he had to dedicate a few moments to deep breaths. 

"when have you ever behaved,” will sat down on the edge of the bed, and nico tried his best to get his head onto his lap. his boyfriend laughed quietly, it was nico’s favourite kind of laugh, and the son of hades smirked weakly. that was also coincidentally will’s favourite kind of smile. “you’re being bold…”

bold? was this any different than how they were when they were alone? nico felt a lump form in his throat, and he forced his eyes open. when they adjusted to the light, he grimaced.

jason and annabeth looked down at him, lips parted and eyes flashing so many emotions it was hard to focus on just one. nico shut his eyes again, and sighed so roughly that the room felt a little heavier.

just what he’s always wanted, his closest friend and his ex-crushes girlfriend to find out he’s dating will solace without him even knowing they were there. another trip to tartarus would be better than this. nico pulled the blanket over his face and just laid there for a bit.

 

nobody said anything. the room was silent. he hated it. worst day of his life. this made it onto his list of things that ruined his life for an extended period of time. 


	3. discomfort's an old friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> percy jolted a bit, the intrusive thought that he might have liked nico a little bit made his stomach churn, out of guilt and confusion. no way he had feelings for nico di angelo, no way he had feelings after nico moved on and he had annabeth. no way.

nico looked at will, will looked at jason, jason looked annabeth and annabeth looked at nico. the son of hades had never felt more alive, his heart was making a point of being obnoxiously loud.

nico’s thoughts pooled in his head, in the ugliest part of his brain. he was insecure, terrified in fact. he didn’t know what to say, what to do, or how to react in way that wouldn’t hurt anyone. he turned his head away from them, using all his strength to take his head off his boyfriend’s lap and roll over. when will brushed his hand against nico’s, he couldn’t help but jolt, and he could feel the son of apollo frown. that made nico feel even worse.

 “can you…” nico cleared his throat, closing his eyes tightly and trying his best to steady his voice. “i want to be alone.” more silence followed. he felt like he was suffocating, unable to stop himself from beginning to shake underneath the blankets.

 “we’re leaving.” will said, standing up from the bed and escorting the other two out. nico couldn’t imagine he was too happy with his boyfriend wanting everyone to leave him alone, not asking him for comfort. will would never hold it against him, he knew the fear of judgement and not belonging. he knew it would be even harder for nico considering his history with his friends and constantly being left out.

  
  
outside of the infirmary, jason made a beeline towards will and casually cleared his throat. the son of apollo looked at him, raising an eyebrow slowly and then looking him up and down. he’s heard stories about jason, but he’s only ever seen him from a distance.

 “how long have you and nico… been together?” jason eyed will as if he was a criminal, and they both shared an intense few moments of staring. was will being interrogated? he knew nico and jason were friends but this was a whole new level of protecting nico di angelo that will could totally get on board with.

 “it’s been almost four months,” will blinked a few times watching as jason nodded thoughtfully as if he was mentally taking notes. the second last thing will wanted to do was piss off a powerful demigod, the first was betray nico.

“nico can fight for himself but if you do hurt him,” jason put an arm around will’s shoulder so slowly that it succeeded in making him twice as uncomfortable as he originally was. “i won’t exactly sit by and watch, you know?”

“yes sir.” will said through his teeth, half as a joke and half because he was scared out of his mind.

 

“wait, wait, annabeth, nico is dating someone?” percy was exasperated, incredibly shocked by the midday iris message from his girlfriend. he thought she was checking up on him or calling to support him in his studies, instead she was ranting about how unbelievable it was.

“yes! will solace! you must remember him, i don’t think i’ve ever seen nico look so happy. he was so brave to tell you about his old crush on you,” she threw her hands up in the air as she spoke and then shook her head. “i can’t imagine how hard it is on him to have us know.” she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand and looking up at percy with sad, stormy gray eyes. “you can’t tell him i told you, oh gods, he wasn’t comfortable telling us, no way would he be comfortable with you-”

“wait woah, i knew the guy before he was even claimed! why wouldn’t he want me to know! i mean we fought alongside each other a bunch.” percy seemed a bit offended that annabeth would even suggest such a thing. he was too busy rambling to consider what she really meant.

 “honey, he used to like you.” she rubbed at her forehead while exhaling, thinking of way to explain it so that percy could understand. and not just surface level, _i kind of get it_ understand, she wanted him to know exactly what she was talking about.

 “yeah thanks, i totally forgot i wasn’t ‘his type’ until just right now.” percy groaned, not completely sure why the statement hurt him so much. he probably just wanted answers or wanted to know what his type was.

 “i don’t think nico would want his old crush to know about him and his boyfriend. it’s just a thought. think about it from his perspective seaweed brain, it’s awkward and uncomfortable.”

“uncomfortable? isn’t that going a little far?” percy was a little whiny at this point, and annabeth rolled her eyes in the most loving way possible. her boyfriend was so busy brooding over the words that he didn’t even see it.

 “percy, you never looked at him like that. the whole time he was by your side, you were looking at me. don’t you think that made it even worse? being comfortable is hard when it’s like that.” she frowned at him, he was twirling a pencil in his hand and making the moatmeal pitiful face she’d ever seen. he was just moping at this point. “i’ll call you later, i have to do a couple things.”

 “okay... it was nice talking. i miss you.” percy was trying his best to sound sincere, he was just so distracted. annabeth knew he got like this when there was too much on his mind, so she didn’t make a big deal out of it. she knew it would pass, and percy would forget about it soon enough. he just needed some time.

 

it hadn’t been twenty minutes when percy ditched his exam prep books and laid on his floor looking up at the ceiling. for months the words “not my type” have haunted him. what did that even mean? did meeting will make him realize percy wasn’t his type? did percy do something that proved to him he wasn’t his type? why did percy want to be nico’s type so bad? maybe he was just flattered, it wasn’t that deep… was it?

percy shook his head quickly, trying to shake the thoughts from his head, but he had a feeling everytime he thought of nico he’d just think of this. he had annabeth, he was annabeth’s type, that was enough for him. maybe he just wanted to be well liked. was this how rachel felt when percy so clearly chose annabeth? percy rolled over onto his stomach, resting his chin on his hands.

 nico moved on, why couldn’t he? wait, why did he have to move on? it’s not like he ever liked nico, it had always been annabeth. soon after he met his girlfriend he was infatuated and couldn’t wait to see her the next year. but after finding out nico liked him, everything nico has ever done played itself in his head, and he felt like he understood. percy jolted a bit, the intrusive thought that he might have liked nico a little bit made his stomach churn, out of guilt and confusion. no way he had feelings for nico di angelo, no way he had feelings after nico moved on and he had annabeth. no way.

 

  
will came back to the infirmary about an hour later, he was sure that was enough time for nico to calm down and also take a nap. when he wandered into see if nico wanted to eat dinner, the bed was empty, and will nearly had a heart attack. this was the worst possible scenario, his boyfriend was sad, alone and now missing. will was seriously going to pass out.

 the thing about nico was he only felt comfortable in two places, and finding him didn’t take that much time. will was just so scared because he left him for so long, and anything could have happened in that time. he ran as fast as he could to the hades cabin, not even noticing that he ignored several campers as he kept his eyes on the prize. if nico shadow traveled to get there he was seriously going to punch him… with his lips...gently on the cheek and then scold him a lot.

 walking into the cabin, will peeked in through the door frame at the bed tucked neatly in the corner of the room. all the lights were off and the only sign of life was the quiet munching coming from under the blanket. will relaxed a bit, closing the door behind him and turning on the lamp beside the bed as he walked by.

“nico?” his voice was soft, a coo. in the dim light he could see the lump under the blanket, unmistakably his boyfriend. he’s seen nico on his worst days and this was far from it, this was more like one of his bad but he still laughed at will’s jokes kind of days. the crunching got slower, as if that translated into will not being able to hear it.

 he looked at the bedside table at the bottle of mountain dew, and he sighed slowly. nico always ate so bad when will wasn’t looking, especially so when he was sad. will pulled back the blanket slowly, eyes glimmering when he saw nico curled up in a ball eating plain tortilla chips.

“nico…” will sat down beside him, gently rubbing a hand through his slightly tangled hair and then pushing his hair from his face. “mind if i get under with you?” nico pushed the chips away from himself and weakly batted away crumbs from beside him. will chuckled slightly, crawling under the blanket and pulling it over their shoulders.

 “sorry…” nico tried to duck his head, but his dark circles were even more prominent after he’s been crying. the son of hades pressed his face against will’s shoulder and shook his head. “i swear i’m not ashamed.” when he felt will’s arms around him he whimpered, pressing himself closer.

 “i never thought you were.” will kissed the top of his head and nico sniffled a couple times. in a couple minutes he’d be embarrassed about crying and try to play it off, but will never once looked down on him for expressing himself. “how are you feeling?” he began to rub at his back, smiling when nico happily sighed and grabbed at his shirt softly.

 “i...i’m feeling better physically, but emotionally i don’t think i’m ever okay…” nico wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, swallowing the lump in his throat and attempting to steady his breathing. “getting better, i’m trying hard to get better.”

 “i know you are, i’m proud of you… there’s no rush…” will kissed his head again and he swore he heard nico breathlessly laugh against him. they always seemed to be close and touching, but will always kissed him a lot just to annoy him. nico liked being kissed, but will had a habit of doing it so often he couldn’t go get a snack without will giving him a see you in two minutes kiss.

 “i didn’t know demigods could be angels.” nico murmured under his breath, and will gasped. did nico just make a joke? a joke while crying nonetheless. will almost choked on his laughter, pulling away from his boyfriend just enough to look down at him. he had that tiny smirk on his face he always had when he was pleased with himself or thought will was being cute.

 “who knew the ghost king was so soft?” will teased, leaning down and pressing a kiss to the side of nico’s lips. nico pushed him playfully, his smirk growing into a smile.

 “if you tell anyone, i’ll end you solace.”

 “i wouldn’t dare, i like only me knowing.”


	4. where the heart is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and they all laughed, and it was the best percy had felt in months. it was good, safe, and actual laughter. he felt warm, and so glad to be with his friends with no sense of impending doom.

on the weekend, percy was going to take a break from studying and visit the camp. what could go wrong? annabeth was there, jason was there and hazel was supposed to be coming the same day he came. it would be the perfect time to catch up and have a good time with his old friends. percy wasn’t going to mention how he couldn’t sleep because he was afraid he’d dream of nico and will solace again. he also wasn’t going to mention how he might in theory like nico di angelo a little bit.

he didn’t pack much, he was only going to be there until sunday night, so a couple shirts and a pair of pants seemed to be fine. everytime he went to the camp he managed getting roped into weird, very messy demigod activities. he never brought enough socks. last time he had to borrow cat socks from someone in the aphrodite cabin, as if those were the only spare socks in the entire camp.

“percy, no matter what you do, you cannot join anymore quests.” his mother said as he was walking out of the door. he was tempted to tell her that he didn’t want to miss out on anything fun as a joke, but looking at her cradling his baby sister in her arms made him go soft. he promised not to leave the camp on any life threatening quests, which sounded very natural to him.

 

when he got to camp it was 2pm on saturday. he barely walked in when annabeth had seen him and threw herself at him in the biggest hug ever. he smiled brightly, because he missed her so much, now they could just relax and not study unlike every other time they met. she planted a kiss on his cheek and he felt all his nerves go away. annabeth was already eagerly talking about the things percy had missed in the two days jason was here and he wasn’t.

“gods, it’s so nice to be back together.” she spoke as if she was reading his mind, and he nodded in agreement. “i wish all of us could just sit down and actually have fun, nothing trying to kill us or end the world.” percy nodded even harder because he wanted to just relax and be like kids with his friends. he was so close to them in the first place because of him not wanting any of them to die during their insane quests.

“where’s everyone else?” he kissed her temple and annabeth tightened her side hug she had on him. percy did a once over of the camp as she explained frank was very busy at camp jupiter as was reyna, leo was doing something with apollo, and piper was with her father.

“look what the tide brought in!” jason came out of literally nowhere, and squeezed percy in a hug so tight that the son of poseidon couldn’t breath. when he was finally released, he smiled at jason and then snorted into laughter.

“have you been working on that line?”

“yeah, a little bit.”

and they all laughed, and it was the best percy had felt in months. it was good, safe, and actual laughter. he felt warm, and so glad to be with his friends with no sense of impending doom.

 

  
nico was sitting with mrs.o’leary because will was believe it or not, doing some doctor things. the hellhound lounged around the camp a lot nowadays, percy couldn’t exactly keep her in his apartment. she didn’t mind laying around in the day with nico, in fact it was one of her favourite things to do. mrs.o’leary nuzzled against the boy who was happily rubbing at her head and laughing at how much she drooled.

nico didn’t tell anybody but the other day when he was escaping the infirmary, he just hid behind mrs.o’leary as she walked. nobody saw him or even thought he would try an escape as comical as that. the hellhound was accepting all her pets and rubs when she abruptly sat up and nico fell right into the fur of her stomach.

“oh gods, i ate some-”

“my own brother’s not even gonna say hi?” hazel approached the two of them, her arms outstretched for a hug. nico got up as quickly as he could, smiling softly and rushing over to her. hazel giggled when her brother hugged her tightly, complete with a little spin and a tender kiss on the forehead.

“hazel!” he tried to ignore the hellhound hair somewhere in his mouth, but it was really bothering him so he turned away as he spat a bunch and tried to get it with his fingers. at this point, hazel was laughing so hard she couldn’t breath, and mrs.o’leary took half a step closer to investigate. when she licked the side of nico’s face and the boy groaned because now he was soggy, and his sister was laughing too much to help him.

“oh gods, this is too good,” she wiped at her eyes, finally calming down from her laughing fit when she looked at nico rubbing his jacket on his face to dry himself. “stop, i’m going to start laughing again!” she pushed at his shoulder weakly, doubling over.

“oh, i’m so sorry.” sarcasm dripped from his voice as he rolled his eyes, trying to fix his hair which was always messy so it was impossible to believe he actually meant for it to look that way. “i really meant to eat some fur and then drown in spit.” but even nico couldn’t be mad hazel, in fact he was smiling widely.

 

  
hazel and nico laid on his bed in the hades cabin, they were both on their stomachs and they were eating goldfish crackers with no cares in the world. nico was very comfortable opening up to her, in fact he told her things he hadn’t been able to tell will. it was very difficult to be truthful with someone who you were scared to lose, but nico was working on being more comfortable. just his trust issues, and abandonment issues acting up. hazel was laying half on top of him, humming and nodding with each word he said. she was the best listener he’d ever met, other than mrs.o’leary.

“well it’s a really good sign will’s not rushing you or anything,” she was the first one to know about the relationship, nico couldn’t bare hiding anything from her. “i think you should open up when you think it’s the right time, you shouldn’t feel like you owe it to him.” hazel poured a handful of crackers into her mouth and crunched them noisily.

“the right time? should i just wait a few weeks and see how i feel and then wait a couple more?” nico mumbled, munching on a cracker slowly as he tried to figure out his problems with the help of his beloved sister. “or is that too long? what is will thinks i’m being weird? i know i’m weird but i don’t want to be super weird.”

“nico you’re just the right amount of weird! if he has a problem with it, then maybe he’s not the right guy for you.” she was trying to help, but those words drilled holes into nico and he felt like all his hope was seeping through them.

“hazel please don’t say that, gods.” he pressed his face into his sheets and grumbled, closing his eyes tightly. his sister gasped, running her free hand through his hair and quickly explaining that just because she said it didn’t mean she was right, five times out of ten she was wrong.

“i just came by to say hi… i can come back later?” percy awkwardly spoke from the door, and nico threw his head back to look up at him so quickly he heard a crack. hazel rolled off her brother, taking a few more crackers into her hand and then smiling at him.

“hey percy! how’ve you been?” she sat on the edge of the bed, spreading her arms out again, and percy smiled softly before walking inside and hugging her quickly.

“i’ve been pretty great, i have a little sister now, my grade’s are getting pretty good.” he looked over at nico, they held eyes for a little too long and then percy waved at him even more awkwardly. nico blinked at him, and then waved back.

“a little sister! wow, that’s great percy.” hazel smiled brightly, it was a very beautiful sight. her smile alone could light up an entire room, and nico seemed visibly less tense as he actually sat up beside him. “annabeth must be helping you hm?”

percy smiled at the mention of his girlfriend, and he was almost proud that everyone acknowledged how helpful she was. he was beyond lucky to be where he was now, and she had been with him every step of the way, even as just a friend she’d help him become who he is today.

“yeah, she’s really good at teaching me. i really didn’t understand half the things in my textbook until she sat down with me.” percy felt much better talking about his girlfriend, in fact it had lifted the worry off of his shoulders.

“here, have some goldfish, aquaman.” nico murmured under his breath, and percy looked at him in awe. they hadn’t talked since nico mentioned he liked him, and now he was making fun of him and making jokes at the same time. percy chuckled, taking the bag from him and then smiling.

“don’t mind if i do, donnie darko.”

 

  
the bonfire that night was exceptional. chiron let them stay later to catch up as long as they cleaned up everything and didn’t make a lot of noise past 11pm. it was common courtesy after all. hazel sat beside nico, who sat beside will. across from them sat annabeth, percy and jason. nico rested his head against will’s shoulder, who was expertly roasting marshmallows for the both of them. percy and jason kept hitting their marshmallows together trying to get the best spot to toast them, and annabeth kept rolling her eyes as she ate her s’more with no problem.

“ew do you two have to hold hands everywhere?” hazel mumbled, and bumped nico on the shoulder slightly. the son of hades rolled his eyes, snuggling closer to will as if to prove a point.

“my doctor says i have poor circulation.” he stated matter-of-factly, and will raised their joined hands to his mouth to kiss nico’s knuckle.

“i’m his doctor.” will murmured, wiggling his eyebrows softly and laughing when nico kicked him in the shin for being annoying.

percy was watching absentmindedly for a while, looking as nico swung his legs over will’s lap and will held them there without even batting an eye. he watched as nico smiled without being held back, how he whispered, laughed and hid his face against will’s neck. it’s everything he could have wanted for nico. to be with someone who made him feel like he didn’t have filter himself or hold himself back.

annabeth gently rubbed at the back of his neck, causing percy to snap out of it and turn to look at her. her gray eyes reflected the fire so beautifully, he was at a loss for words.

“you okay seaweed brain?” she whispered softly, her other hand brushing hair from his eyes, and percy nodded slowly.

“yeah, just taking advantage of this moment when we’re all safe and happy. treasure it, you know?”

“aw…” annabeth leaned in, kissing him on the lips gingerly and then pulling away to rest against him.

“ew!” jason said loudly, making hazel burst into laughter and nico snicker into will’s shoulder.

“hey guys looks,” will cupped nico’s face naturally, succeeding in making the son of hades go pink and turn into jelly all at the same time. “you’re so amazing.” and he kissed nico softly.

“ew! cute couples everywhere!” she yelled as if it were a disease, and jason laughed on the other side of the campfire. nico hid himself further in will’s neck after he pulled away, mumbling about how unnecessary that was.

“you know what that means,” jason extended his arm to hazel “we have to.”

“EW!” both couples yelped, and the sheer absurdity of the situation only made it funnier. the teenagers laughed so loudly that they swore it echoed, cheeks hurt from smiling so big and stomachs hurt from the laughter.

it was so warm, it was just like home.  
it lasted a couple minutes before the door to the big house swung open and all of them collectively gasped.

“i gave you two rules.” chiron called from the door, and nico called back just as seamlessly.

“it’s 10:59!”

they burst back into laughter and giggles.  
smiles and soft touches.  
it was warm.  
it was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was so nice and soothing to write... they’re all happy and comfy!  
> finally!! 
> 
> also totally self indulgent donnie darko joke i rlly don’t think nico would get it, i just thought its funny hehe!! 
> 
> i love love love nico um...  
> wrote this entire thing just bc i love him..  
> have a good day!
> 
> thanks for reading!


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